Sweetly Isolated (The Swallow Barn Cottage Series, Book 1)

His Édesem

Author's Note:

And this is another double update. This is chapter 1 out of 2. Don't judge me XD And I did work on my certification assignment first, I swear! ;)

Love,

K. xx

***

Apparently, flirting and writing didn't go together. Tina sighed, bent in half, and rested her forehead on the edge of her desk, careful not to touch the bruise. She'd written and rewritten two pages - and it was all rubbish. No suspense, no pace. Tina groaned, pressed Command + A, and hit 'delete.'

It took her ten minutes of fighting with herself to accept her failures as a human being and give in. She plodded out of her study and stuck her head into the kitchen. Oh, what a heavenly aroma!

"Lunch's ready, édesem," Holyoake announced, without turning, of course.

Has he got some sort of a spidey sense for her presence behind him?

"Sorry, what?" she muttered, hardly listening.

Are those mini pork pies?! All golden and inviting, and a salade verte on the side, and some sort of an aromatic chutney?!

"Go wash your hands, kicsim," he said, and she could see his shoulders shake in laughter.

There had been definitely something besides English in those phrases - but who cared? Tina was starving! After a quick run to the washroom, she was at the table, a fork in her hand.

"There's no way you'd just baked them though," she said biting into her first pie. Oh, a quail egg in the middle! Yum!

He chuckled. "No, I didn't."

Tina stopped enthusiastically noshing and gave him a questioning look. Did she dribble on her shirt or something? Why is he looking at her like that?

"What's up?" she asked.

He continued giving her the attentive, slightly squinted look.

"I might have fibbed a tad," he drew out.

"Yes?" Tina asked, suddenly alarmed.

"I'll show you mine, if you show me yours, kicsikém," he murmured.

Bollocks. Tina might be thick - but not that thick.

"That's Hungarian, isn't it?" she muttered, cringing.

"Yes, it is," he said.

"Yeah..." Tina gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. But I needed to say something!"

C'mon, he can't be actually that angry with her, since she can see a smile hiding in the corners of his lips!

"And it's sort of none of your business what I do," she added, picked up a slice of cucumber, and popped it in her mouth.

That told him. Well done, Tina. Could've skipped the 'sort of' part, but at least you sort of stood your ground. Sort of.

"Yeah, but it still doesn't feel that good to be lied to," he said, lifting one eyebrow.

"Sorry," Tina repeated and crunched with the cucumber. "Your turn."

"I can't bake, and the pies and the cinnamon rolls were from the frozen section of the grocery shop. I just baked them," he said.

"Oi, you! I admired your skill!" she hollered and threw a small branch of parsley at him.

He guffawed and shielded himself with his napkin.